The second U.S. manned space program was announced in January 1962. Its two-man crew gave it its name, Gemini, for the third constellation of the Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Gemini involved 12 flights, including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment. Like Mercury's, its major objectives were clear-cut:

* To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.

* To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the dockedcombination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system;

* To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land.Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.

________________Project Gemini__________________

GT-1, Vintage Color - NASA Photo ID: S-64-21563

Description: Lift off from Launch Complex 19 of the Gemini Titan II booster with the GT-1 capsule onboard as a payload at 11:00 a.m. on 8 April 1964. This is the first ever launching of a 2-man spacecraft and the first flight phase of the Gemini Program.

Photo (Left): Photo is in excellent condition with some fading. Printed on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse along with NASA short text description.

Photo (Center): Photo is in good condition with some handling creases along left side, but no real effect on photo as seen in image. Repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse on fiber based paper.

Photo (Right): Photo is in excellent condition with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse on fiber based paper.

Description: Text on reverse reads, "Harm Bunning, left, Associate Professor in Aeronautical Engineering at University of Michigan, who is conducting a three day seminar in orbital flight mechanics. He is explaining details to Astronaut Walter Schirra and Astronaut Trainee Edward White II. This is part of Astronaut training."

Photo: 8 x 10 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with blue NASA detailed text on reverse.

Description: Text on reverse reads: The Mercury and Gemini spacecrafts are shown side by side at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, MO., giving the comparative size of the 1 and 2 man spacecrafts. Project Gemini is a follow on program to Mercury, which will place two men into orbit to develop the rendezvous technique and study the effects of weightlessness of space flights of long duration.

Description: Text on reverse reads: Maj. Charles Bassett II, USAF (Left) and Astronaut Elliot See, Jr. (Right). Both were scheduled to be the primary crew aboard Gemini 9, See as commander and Bassett as pilot. They were on their way to McDonnell Aircraft Corporation's Lambert Field near St. Louis to discuss their mission with McDonnell engineers on 28 February 1966. However, overcast skies mixed with rain and snow flurries resulted in poor visibility. Their T-38 came in too low and slow on the first landing attempt, so pilot See went to afterburner and turned right to make another attempt. Unfortunately, his turn took the aircraft right into the roof of McDonnell Building 101, killing both men. Coincidentally, this very building contained the Gemini 9 spacecraft the two men were due to fly.

Description: 17 March 1965 Gemini High Altitude Ejection. Washington-Artists concept of the ejection system used for NASA's Gemini Program.

Gemini - Vintage B/W Artist Concept - Rocketdyne Photo ID: IL S654

Photo: 10 x 8 B/W NASA Glossy Photograph on a fiber based paper with Rocketdyne stamp on reverse. A division of North American Aviation, Inc.

Description: Concept drawing showing the maneuverability of the Gemini 2 man Spacecraft by using the thruster jets. Photo showing the ability to move about the yaw, pitch, and roll axis as well as the thrust component as the spacecraft approaches the Agena docking craft, seen in the lower left corner.

Gemini - Vintage B/W Concept Photo - Gemini-Titan Configuration

Photo: 8 x 10 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper.

Description: An Artist photo showing the Gemini Titan II Man-Rated Configuration. A fine cut-away view of the converted Titan ICBM to be used for manned flight for the Gemini Program.

Description: Concept drawing showing the launch of a Gemini-Titan Agena Target Vehicle (ATV). The Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a spacecraft used by NASA to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions.

Description: Artist concept drawing of the Rogallo's flexible wing (Parawing) which was tested by NASA as a steerable parachute to retrieve Gemini space capsules and retrieve used rocket stages.

Gemini-Titan 2- Vintage Color Glossy - NASA Photo Red ID: S-65-13165

Description: The Text on reverse reads: GEMINI-2 REENTRY -- This photograph is an enlargement of a frame from a 16mm motion picture camera which was mounted within the spacecraft to take film through the hatch window. The Gemini-Titan 2 Spacecraft at this point is in the reentry phase of its return through the earth's atmosphere.

Photo: 8 x 10 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with blue NASA detailed text on reverse.

Description: The Text on reverse reads: 19 JAN 65 -- GT-2 LIFTOFF -- Liftoff of Gemini-titan 2. The unmanned space flight was a complete success. The GT-2 launching was originally scheduled on December 9, 1964, but was postponed due to technical difficulties. The GT-2 test flight was a prelude to the manned Gemini-Titan 3 flight scheduled during the second quarter of 1965.

Description: Artist concept drawing of the Rogallo's flexible wing (Parawing) which was tested by NASA as a steerable parachute to retrieve Gemini space capsules and retrieve used rocket stages.

USAF Operation MOL - Titan III-C Artist Concept - Vintage B/W Glossy

Photo: 8 x 10 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with blue U.S. Air Force text on reverse and detail descriptive text on attached.

Description: Photo Date 2-27-64 -- Very early concept photo of MOL. Attached text reads: In artists concept, the two solid fueled boosters of the Air Force Titan III-C space booster push the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) and its Gemini-B capsule above the earth's atmosphere. The core rocket, which starts at altitude to complete the orbit mission, is basically a two-stage titan II missile with a transtage and control module. The Air Force MOL, which will consist of a pressurized cylinder approximately the size of a small house trailer, will be used to determine the military usefulness of man in space and will be America's first manned space station.

Description: 30 April 1965 - The text on reverse reads, "GIVING GEMINI THE "BRAKE" -- Gemini spacecraft retro-rockets are test mounted in the Elkton, Md., plant of Thiokol Chemical Corp., builders of the rockets used by NASA. The four rockets aboard a Gemini spacecraft act as its braking system, slowing down its orbit enough to permit the Gemini's descent to earth.

( Last Photo Update: July 14, 2013 )

The following photographs were scanned from my personal collection of vintage manned space exploration photographs. These photos were taken during the period of the "Golden Age" of manned space exploration covering the Mercury, Gemini & Apollo programs. These are NOT modern reproductions, copies or reprints.

Description: An 8 x 10 vintage photo in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with blue NASA descriptive text on reverse. Dated January 6, 1964

Photo: Text on reverse reads: The first stage of the modified Titan II, which produces 439,000 pounds of thrust, arrives at Pad 19. The Titan II, which is seventy feet long, employs storable hypergolic (self-igniting upon mixing) propellants; permitting a much shorter count-down period. This first Titan II Gemini launch will be an unmanned orbital flight.

Description: President John F. Kennedy looks over a Gemini space capsule with Astronaut John Young on board during a September 1962 visit to McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. Kennedy was at the St. Louis plant for a briefing on the Mercury and Gemini space programs.

Gemini Capsule - Vintage Color - McDonnell Aircraft Photo

Photo: 8.5 x 11 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse.

Description: The Mercury and Gemini spacecrafts are shown side by side at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, MO., giving the comparative size of the 1 and 2 man spacecrafts. In front of the Gemini spacecraft is the McDonnell Augmented Target Docking Adapter (A.T.D.A.)

Gemini Capsule - Vintage Color - McDonnell Aircraft Photo

Photo: 8.5 x 11 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse.

Description: Gemini Spacecraft at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, MO.

Gemini Capsule - Vintage Color - McDonnell Aircraft Photo

Photo: 8.5 x 11 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse.

Description: Photo showing the Gemini spacecraft equipment arrangement.. Far left is the equipment section, next to it is the Retro-Grade module, then the reentry module and on the far right is the Augmented Target Docking Adapter.

Gemini Capsule - Vintage Color - McDonnell Photo

Photo: 8.5 x 11 vintage original in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse.

Description: The Mercury and Gemini spacecrafts are shown side by side at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, MO., giving the comparative size of the 1 and 2 man spacecrafts.

Gemini Capsule - Vintage Color - McDonnell Aircraft Photo

Photo: 8.5 x 11 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with repeating "A KODAK PAPER" watermarks on reverse. The photo is boarder-less.

Description: Photo showing the Gemini spacecraft inside the altitude chamber as two astronaut prepare to enter the spacecraft prior to a training exercise.

Description: A close up view of the Docking Cone of the Augmented Target Docking Adapter. the A.T.D.A. was used to allow the Gemini spacecraft to docking with the Agena target vehicle. The Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a spacecraft used by NASA during its Gemini program to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions.Each ATV consisted of an Agena spacecraft built by Lockheed and a docking adapter built by McDonnell, as seen here. Photo taken at the McDonnell facility if St. Louis, MO.

Photo: 8 x 10 in excellent condition on a fiber based paper with blue NASA detailed text on reverse. Photo as label added with ID NASA-S-65-727

Description: 19 JAN 65 -- GT-2 LIFTOFF -- Liftoff of Gemini-titan 2. The unmanned space flight was a complete success. The GT-2 launching was originally scheduled on December 9, 1964, but was postponed due to technical difficulties. The GT-2 test flight was a prelude to the manned Gemini-Titan 3 flight scheduled during the second quarter of 1965.